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Fewer than 48% of 2023 public high school graduates in the Mountain State went on to attend college this year, according to a report by the state Higher Education Policy Commission.
Believe it or not, that's an improvement, albeit a slight one.
According to a report by WV MetroNews, HEPC Director of Research and Analysis Zornista Georgieva said this year's 47.4% is almost 1 percentage point higher compared to the 2022 graduating class. In fact, she said the data shows 36 of our state's 55 counties showed increases in their college-going rates in 2023.
Meanwhile, despite their struggles, in-state institutions are still appealing to high school graduates: 41.2% of them choose in-state institutions, while only 6.2% go out-of-state.
Even a small improvement is encouraging in a state that struggles with education as ours does.
More encouraging still is the news that more low socioeconomic students also enrolled in college after graduation.
Educators appear to be making the difference on that front.
"I think this is a good trend that we're looking at. I think it really speaks to the work that our high school counselors and high school staff are doing along with our institutions and our outreach folks," Georgieva told MetroNews.
Lest anyone dismiss the improvement as inconsequential, imagine what could happen if we make the same small improvement this year, and the next ...
We've got quite a way to go to get back to the 53.3% recorded for the 2012 high school graduation year -- and wouldn't it be nice if we could sail past that figure?
If we set our sights that high -- and a small but loud contingent of those who despise education isn't rewarded with more time in office -- there's no stopping us.